Update - Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015
On 26 May 2015, the ban on exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts and other employment provisions under SBEEA came in to force.
SBEEA received royal assent on 26 March but the majority of its provisions needed secondary legislation to bring them into force.
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (Commencement No 1) Regulations 2015 has now brought the following employment provisions in to force:
- the ban on exclusivity clauses in zero hour contracts, stopping individuals from working for another employer. It also gives the Secretary of State the power to introduce further regulations on zero hour contracts. The draft Zero Hours Workers (Exclusivity Terms) Regulations 2015 were published in March 2015 but have not yet been passed
- amending the maximum penalty for underpayment of the National Minimum Wage of a worker to £20,000 per underpaid worker
- the power for the Secretary of State to make regulations prohibiting an NHS employer discriminating against an applicant for whistleblowing
- applying the director's duties under the Companies Act 2006 to shadow directors
The remaining employment provisions including the requirement for employers with at least 250 employees to publish information about their gender pay gap and the repayment of public sector exit payments are yet to have been brought into force. We will keep you updated on any further developments in this respect.